The Winamac Town Board held a preliminary hearing on the 2014 budget. Town Manager Jim Conner said no public comment was made during the hearing.
“The final adoption will be at our October meeting on the 14th,” stated Conner. “We tried to cut it back some for next year so that we’re not using so much cash-on-hand and tryin got get around to having a balanced budget.”
Starke/Pulaski Habitat for Humanity is still accepting applications to build a home for a family in need, but according to Steve Morrison of Habitat, they have not yet received any qualifying applications. While that is frustrating, he said, they are still accepting applications for this great opportunity to help a family.
“We’re restricted by the guidelines of the International Habitat for Humanity as to the income levels and job responsibilities and the various credit bureau reports standings with the individuals, and we’ve just been unfortunate so far in getting someone who truly qualifies for Habitat for Humanity. But, we continue to look at people and continue to accept applications and hope that we can come up with one that we can build a house for,” said Morrison.
Alliance EMS will show its appreciation for the community this weekend during its Customer Appreciation Day on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. ET at the Broken Arrow Campground north of Winamac. According to Jay Podell, this annual event will be packed full of activities including a talent contest with cash prizes, free food, free games, a moon bounce, face painting, and a variety of other attractions as well.
The third weekend of September will mark the 48th year of the Francesville Fall Festival, a festival that, according to secretary Betty Krueger, grows each year. She said the event was originally a celebration for the town’s new firehouse, but it has since evolved into a much-loved event.
“It started out as a celebration for our new firehouse, and I guess they had so much fun, that we decided to have a celebration every year, and it just seems like it has grown and grown until this year. I think this year is one of our good years; we’re going to have lots of free entertainment. We like to have free family entertainment where you can bring your kids and spend the whole weekend and not spend a whole lot of money. The only thing you have to pay for is what you eat,” said Krueger.
The weekend features a variety of food fundraisers, including a fish and tenderloin supper Friday night, a chicken dinner Saturday night, and a pork chop dinner Sunday night. The local Boy Scout troop will also host a breakfast on Saturday morning.
This year also marks the first year for a few entertainers, according to Krueger.
“We have a couple entertainers that have never been here before. One of them is Ken the Cowboy, he’s coming from California and he’s going to show and tell what it is like to be a cowboy in the old days where you do the roping and hang out on the range, and I’m hoping that the kids are really gonna enjoy it,” she said.
This year’s festival will also feature the petting zoo, and other entertainers like J .T. and Tommy Oaks as well as the Heritage Quartet, a local gospel group. Friday night includes events like the Master Crackerjack and Candy Corn Contest, and on Saturday morning, the festival will feature a bake contest and auction and entertainment by Jungle John with his pet snakes at his Corn Snake Care centre.
But the number one feature for the event, according to Krueger, is the parade that takes place Saturday at 2 p.m.
“We always have a good parade. Usually it’s an hour or an hour and a half, and a lot of local things, and a lot of out-of-town things come to the parade and the streets are really full. After the parade, there’s everything going on, so you stay around. I’d say the parade is the highlight of our year,” she said.
The festival also features amusement rides for kids and an auto show Sunday morning at the park, along with a cornhole tournament.
For more information on the Francesville Fall Festival, taking place from Sept. 20 to Sept. 22, visit francesvillefallfestival.com.
The downtown Winamac area will soon become a veritable winter wonderland, presented by the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce. The charming holiday celebration will feature a variety of events and activities including craft and business booths, great sales at local businesses, free children’s activities and refreshments.
A structure in rural Grovertown is still a heated issue, as Walter and Julia Ford have been ordered to appear in Pulaski Superior Court in Winamac to argue why they should not be held in contempt of court for not removing a structure that they had been ordered to remove before June 1. Back in May, the Starke County Board of Zoning Appeals voted to uphold a ruling made by Special Judge Patrick Blankenship that required Julia Ford to tear down a building that has been the subject of public scrutiny and a lawsuit. They extended the deadline date from June 1 to June 15 and adjourned the meeting.
The West Central School Corporation is in the process of writing the secure and safe school grant.
Superintendent Charles Mellon explained that the state is giving a $50,000 matching grant to schools with over 1,000 students in a school corporation and a $35,000 matching grant to schools with less than 1,000 students in a school corporation. West Central fits in the $35,000 matching grant category which, if awarded, the school will use the money to upgrade security at the buildings. That could include hiring a security officer, buying equipment or performing a security audit.
The Winamac Town Board discussed the funds going toward the Winamac Municipal Pool and how much money is being sunk into the deteriorating structure.
Town Manager Jim Conner said the maintenance on the 50-year pool is costly and the board wanted the opinion of town residents on what to do about the pool.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board did formally approve a recommendation to withdraw from the Midwest Athletic Conference. Eastern Pulaski now joins eight other schools in the area in making that decision.
Along with the budget discussion, the board will talk about the Winamac Municipal Swimming Pool.
Superintendent Charles Mellon said the budget was advertised and now the board is ready for the next step.
Learn more about health and businesses in the Pulaski County area by attending the third annual Health Fair at the West Central Middle School and High School.
West Central School Nurse Arlene Netzger says it will be your one-stop shop for health information from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET at the middle school/high school.
In this first meeting for newly-hired Superintendent Dan Foster, he will give tentative enrollment figures, discuss the ISBA Regional Meeting and other items to come before the school board. The building principals will also give reports.
The Eastern Pulaski School Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. ET in the distance learning lab on the school’s campus.
Superintendent Charles Mellon said Evans did a great job in putting that information together.
This is an annual event which Jay Podell says is packed full of activities.
“We have free food, free games, a free talent contest with cash prizes, moon bounce, face painting, temporary tattoos, cotton candy, snow cones, REACT will be there, and Elmo and Big Bird will be there. The sheriff’s department will also be there doing fingerprints for the kids. There’s a lot going on and it’s free for everybody,” explained Podell.
The board has highlighted this an agenda topic as the members are not sure that the pool can continue to be funded through the town’s budget. Budget constraints have forced the issue and a large amount of repair work is needed on the pool in the next two to three years.
